It might be a perfectly valid opinion to have, and there might be some level of truth to it.
I just think he might not be totally reading the room on this front occasion, given the vast outcry that has come the club’s way of it.
I’m talking of course about the sale of Grady Diangana to West Bromwich Albion, a move that one ex-Hammer doesn’t seem to be as angry about as the majority of the Hammers fanbase.
Speaking to Football.London, former forward Dean Ashton talked about the controversial move, saying he didn’t think there was an awful lot wrong with the move from a West Ham perspective, believing that David Moyes’ men got a fair amount in return for the 22-year-old:
“He’s a promising player and he played very well for West Brom last season. But that’s only one season, he was nowhere near as good as Pereira or Benrahma, so £18m possibly rising to £20m? I think that’s good business for West Ham. It’s a big fee for West Brom to play but I think Slaven Bilic knows how to get the best out of him.”
Were the club wrong to sell Diangana?
Yes
No
I think that the more important thing here is that West Ham seemed eager to get rid of him before at least letting him have a go in the Premier League first, and that’s what could inevitably end up deciding who ‘wins’ this transfer, and it shouldn’t necessarily be based solely on his Championship form.
Whilst he might now have done too well in the Premier League last time around, perhaps his spell with West Brom was the development he needed to kick on in the top flight. And to get rid of him before he really got a chance to prove himself at the London Stadium is perhaps the most annoying part.
That is where I think the majority of the anger comes in for the deal, and why Ashton might just have missed the mark on this occasion.
